This past weekend included deadly back-to-back shootings at festivals: an attack Saturday that killed one and wounded 11 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and an assault that killed three—including two children—and wounded 12 at the annual Gilroy [Calif.] Garlic Festival on Sunday.
The bloody weekend has renewed concerns among event professionals about how to protect soft targets such as festivals. Festivals have always been a core segment in the event business, and recent years have seen an explosion in new music festivals.
Enhancing security in special event venues and other “soft” sites is "essential to preserving our way of life and sustaining the engine of our economy," the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in the "Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places Resource Guide," published in April. Download a copy here.
The guide provides resources including links to training for citizens and businesses. It also calls on everyone--business owners, first responders, government agencies and the general public--to do what they can to protect their communities.
Special Events has covered event security extensively:
- 3 Experts, 3 Perspectives on Security for Music Festivals
- Learning from Las Vegas: Festival Industry Reevaluates Security Measures
- Vegas Trade Shows Beef Up Security in Wake of Massacre
- Security Planning for Special Events: A Q&A with Jeff O'Hara of AlliedPRA New Orleans
- Security Planning for Special Events Part II: A Q&A with Marty MacKay of Hosts Global Alliance
- Are You Prepared for When It Gets Real? Event Crises and How to Cope
- Guest Room: Gary Moses on Security
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